2650885, you are pontificating and I know you can't possibly believe yourself Posted by L.E.S., Thu Jan-19-12 01:54 PM
>I don't expect you to get it. > >Believe me when I tell you that in 5 years you will be ashamed >you ever listened to dude.
What if you SEE-THRU it, as you say, but still enjoy it?
What if you know what REAL hip-hop is love KRS-ONE, and STILL enjoy Drake on some level?
Does that make one blind or in the dark? Should one feel embarrassed about that?
I mean "you want it to be one way, but its the other way" - Marlow Stanfield
Are Jay-Z and/or Kanye not "See-thru" at times? Has Nas not had his moments of transparency? I'm not even putting Drake on their level at all, but this idea that one has to be authentic in order to make music that people like is just not the case, and we've seen it over and over again. . In fact, what this brings up in the sad realization that so few Hip-Hop artists were able to keep their integrity and endure through the ever changing trends and stayed "hot." And then we saw all of our heroes act weird, go out of character, make bad music (eg: Nas "Hate Me Now" Common "Sweet" and countless other examples) that was SEE-THRU to try to stay relevant but really just bit themselves in the ass. This is also why The Roots are such a rare exception and deserve credit. Has KRS not acted like an ass time and time again just to stay relevant? Isn't so much of Hip-Hop just all some kind of weird performance piece and an adoption of a persona that may or may not be who that person really is?
Yes, authenticity is a plus and for me makes the music/art more convincing and stronger. But lets be honest about what Hip-Hop is now, its a big show. I'm not much of a Drake fan, I never bought his albums or even listened to them, but when I hear some of his joints on the radio I dig it and enjoy it for what it is. Does that make me blind? Am I going to be ashamed of that in 5 years? Hell no. I'm not invested in it. Do I take his persona seriously? Nah. But I like a lot of his songs.
And this other thing you said about older people being right 9 times out of 10, and that younger people should listen to them. . Well I have a fundamental disagreement with that idea. . Most of the great artistic movements certainly happened by the young shunning the old. There's great history and tradition to learn from, but its like the student passing the teaching idea, at some point you have to part ways with your influences, or even the so-called wiser generation, and start anew.
p.s. KRS-ONE is most definitely in my Top 5
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